Just some more drunken ideas I think about for you all to wrap your minds around. Ill try very hard to keep short even though its complicated.

edit:important that you know im kind of player that skills on very hard items that give most RP, not small RP grinds

this is all my OPINION.. not fact.

3 or 4 random things i believe in more of less:

point 1 : im very sure of 'half" of this point :P you CAN have too much Craftsmanship for certain levels. Maybe even too much mag craft and control, but not sure about those as much. Grinding towards my first rank 50 finally i ran into a snag on item ive skilled on for long time, and noticed taking off some Major craftsmanship equip Helped the synthesis go faster and with less Destablization. I usually wouldnt think of Subtracting stats, only adding or changing equip, so it could be a very overlooked thing. Did notice sometimes smaller RP gains when using less craftsmanship., continued into point 2..

point 2 : Balance balance... i strongly think they made this system to be Balanced in all situations.. unlike say FF11 where in certain aspects you would want to just max out 1 stat so much it was just silly. I believe its about finding the Right mix of all stats, including physical(dex,int, mnd etc) but not as much as Craft, mag and even less with control. Anyway, the point of Point2 is that I think the Crafting system IS broken in 1 aspect. Broken. yes. I believe that at a certain lvl about 2-4 levels above the item you are making, having too much craft and/or mag does something according to the code of the game where its trying to add too much Quality to item at same time simultaneously making you fail more often. Its hard to put into words, i hope you understand the point im making there.

point 3 : this one is completely insane but just an idea that ties into first 2 points so what the ****. I know that destableing happens more often with the crystals you are using, but could it be 6 Elements, 3 Stats(control, magic, and craft) , that each element represents in small way something that is wrong with your stats to help you fix it.: example : does having too much Craftsmanship for that recipe cause Earth element to destabilize, too Little Control makes Lightning Destablize, etc etc.. just random thoughts , but hey, could be on to something. Now you have to take into account, that being well above recipe level usually wont matter in this point cause success rate is so High, so such low chance of destable.

ok thats enough sillyness from me for now. 1 of 50 theories from me , rememeber its just opinion, Crafting is very complicated , frustrating and intriging at same time, and this is just 1 of the 100s of things you could discuss about it. Im one of those people that doesnt want to go with what works, Just cause it works, I want to know WHY it works or why it doesnt. Most crafting forums here are very dead, and i dont know many other places people discuss crafting, and i Definately dont get to discuss enough with my friends/ls in game as id like to. For reference, im 47 gld, 44 alch, and average 28 all other crafts but cooking from Locals only. And I would never bot and despise that people do. I dont play ALL the time, but am pretty dedicated when I do. For crafting, i usually equip All craftsmanship gear and eat control food for almost all tough recipes, sometimes mix a bit or this or that in there. For HQing, I believe in Magic craftsship mostly, but have had luck with other stat formations, including no Mag craft gear. I think control is completely overrated and use it spareingly cept for food or those tough recipes (see point 1 and 2).

side note/ edit: cant imagine the complications if HQing might require using lower ranked tool, and/or less gear and stats, but I sure as **** see alot of lower ranked players easily HQing nuggets, when it seems almost harder now 20 lvls later with more knowledge than ever.